I Am Number Five
by Aerilon452
Summary: Rush finds a woman trapped in a time dilation field down on a lower level of Destiny.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Rush finds another person on Destiny trapped in a time dilation field.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of SGU or the movie I AM NUMBER FOUR

Rating: T+

**I AM NUMBER FIVE:**

Rush was in the core room staring at read out after read out of the power levels when a small surge caught his attention. Down on the lower level of the crew quarters something was spiking the power. What in the world. He told no one to be down there. Rush grabbed a flash light, his radio, and set off down to the level indicated.

Down on the level Rush clicked on the light and illuminated the dark corridor. he moved alone slowly, each step measured so he wouldn't miss anything. That's when he saw it. There in the middle of the hall was a young woman trapped in a shimmering sort of force field. The woman was perfectly preserved, almost alive.

Being drawn in, Rush went to the field. The girl with in the bubble had her eyes closed, blood on her shoulder, and an odd glow shining from under her skin. Grabbing his radio, "This is Rush I need a medic at my location now." Setting it aside, Nicholas looked around for the source of the field so he could turn it off. "Ancients," He mumbled finally finding the power node. It was a simple little thing, just a small box, yet it contained a source of power that it would keep the one inside perfectly preserved. Pushing the button, turning it off, Rush waited for the shimmering blue bubble to dissipate.

He had been close enough, too close. The girl fell back into his arms. It had been reflex on Rush's part. She was so light, delicate. Her fire red hair fell over his arm falling away from her face exposing her caramel skin and the glow dying from her. Just above the cut of her shirt he saw a littering of stars, circles, squares, dots, and other black shapes marring her flesh in the center of her chest stopping under her collar bones. Who was she? Why had they found her now?

"RUSH!"

"Over here TJ." Nicholas called out to the medic. How much time had past? He didn't know. All he knew was there was a stranger on Destiny who could be an ancient.

"Moonlighting as Knight in faded blue jeans Rush?" TJ asked coming around the corner to see the ill tempered caffeine deprived scientist holding a red head in his arms.

"Very funny. I found her here." Rush explained gently going to the floor with her still in his arms. "I think she's an ancient contained with in a time dilation field."

TJ kneeled, her eyes going to the cut as it bled. "Wow, a fresh wound nearly one million years old." she commented breaking out gauze to put over the wound.

"I'm not sure she's that old." Rush mumbled. He set her on the floor to allow TJ to work her paramedic magic. Keeping his eyes on the red head Rush memorized everything about her. Another glow started on under the fabric of her pants on her right leg. "TJ look at this." Rush moved up the fabric as a new, blinding glow started; four new symbol's were being burned into her flesh.

"What the hell?" TJ taped down the gauze. "Let's get her out of here and up to the crew level. Grab her feet." She threaded her arms until the mysterious girl's arms and waited for the doctor to grab her feet.

Back up in the living quarters of Destiny, TJ and Rush brought the girl into an empty set of quarters and put her on the bed. The whole trek back she had remained unconscious, the odd glow on her leg stopped. Rush stepped back from the bed to allow TJ to do her job. A crowd had started to gather with Eli coming up. "Who's that?" He asked.

"So far, I don't know. All I know is I found her hidden within a time dilation field." Rush answered keeping his eyes on the red head. She had started to shift, starting to wake up. Leaving Eli by the door, Nicholas moved around to the other side of the bed to watch closely. Then, the tips of her fingers started to glow.

TJ checked pupil response, pulse, and temperature. "This is insane. She's perfectly fine."

"But she's unconscious, how is she perfectly normal?" Rush asked. Out of curiosity he reached out, touched the light on her fingers. It was warm and getting warmer. Rush let his gaze rove over her, over the marks on her chest, and over the chain around her neck. There was a symbol carved on it; five marks.

"It's best we just let her sleep," TJ suggested looking to the door where Young waited. It was only a matter of time before word reached him. At least he was waiting until she was finished. Leaving the bed side she went to him and he motioned her down the hall. TJ looked back to Rush. He was still staring at the girl. "All right, all of you have better things to do." TJ looked at them all. Everyone looked around and then started to walk away. Even rush had gotten up. "Oh no, you found her, you stay with her."

"I actually have better things to do." Rush argued. He didn't want to stay and watch some girl sleep when he could be putting safe guards in place for one of hundred things that could go wrong.

"Not right now you don't. If she wakes up, you're going to be here." TJ glared at him.

Rush only rolled his eyes sitting back on the edge of the bed. The red head's fingers twitched, her eyes moving fast under her closed lids. Again the glow started at the tips of her fingers, but this time it worked its way up and to her left shoulder where the wound was. Going to her left side, Rush took her hand looking at the glow. He felt the pad of her index finger. It was extremely warm to the touch. "What are you?" He asked feeling the need to voice the question even though he knew she couldn't hear him.

By the door Eli lingered as quietly as he could watching Rush with the red head. Eli never would have thought to see Rush so intrigued by another human being. The girl was very human looking, despite the tattoos on her chest, and the burn scars on the outside of her right leg. The girl was definitely cute. Pulling out the remote Eli turned on one of the kino's to leave it behind to monitor Rush and the new face on the ship.

Rush heard the small hum of the kino being turned on. "Eli," Nicholas looked at the door, "Come here." Looking back at the girl he lifted the pendant she wore. It was just a simple piece of what looked like ivory with one crimson symbol carved on it.

"Who do you think she is?" Eli asked sitting on the edge of the bed watching Rush instead of the girl. "I mean she wasn't here when we got here."

"She was found on the lower levels that we haven't explored yet." Rush answered dropped the pendant so he could run his finger over the closest of her tattoos.

"Wait, does that mean what I think it means?"

"Yes, Eli. She was already here before we were."

"Shouldn't she be old?" Eli asked honestly.

"She would be, if she hadn't been contained with in a time dilation field." Rush answered. Still his fingers traced over one of the triangles on the girls skin, just under her collar bone. There was something about her that drew him, begged for his attention. Rush didn't know what it was. A new mystery, a problem, for him to solve.

"Cool."

_Five didn't know what she felt other than pain, other than the fact she was somewhere she shouldn't be. Her whole body ached, her fingers burned, and her skin was on fire. The others like here were dead. She knew it for a fact. Why wasn't she dead? Where was she? Five had to open her eyes. She had to. But she was so tired. Fighting, she was fighting so hard to wake up. Five couldn't be out. Someone could kill her. Someone was watching her. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up! She screamed. It was a battle she had to win. Force of will was her greatest strength. She was a fighter, a soldier. She was of the nine. She was a gifted Lorien with legacies on her side. Five was powerful and she was the last one alive._

_Five opened her eyes._

Rush watched as the girl started to move. Her finger clutched at the blanket. It looked as if she was fighting to wake up. The glow on her fingers started again. "What the…?" Rush moved back from the bed. "Eli move back."

'Yeah…" Eli moved off the bed watching the girl as she moved her head back and forth. "Is she trying to wake up?"

"I believe so yes." Rush said just as she opened her eyes. There, he saw the most brilliant emerald eyes he had ever seen on another living soul.

Five was surrounded by two strange men. Fast, too fast, she moved back and put herself up against the wall. Pain exploded over her leg. Moving aside her pant leg Five saw all the scars, freshly burned in her skin, of the other eight. She truly was the last one. Then, to her left, the man with the long hair moved closer. Throwing all of her strength into it, Five called on one of her legacies to protect her. Throwing her hands up she created her main line of defense; a shield.

"She has a shield. She's creating a shield." Eli was stunned. "Oh, my god."

Rush moved closer feeling the need to calm her. He kept his tone light and soothing. "It's ok. We won't hurt you." Putting up his hands Rush tried to show that he wasn't going to threaten her. "We're not going to hurt you." He repeated reaching out to her slowly; gently touching the shield. It was warm, just like the tips of her fingers.

Five stared at the man who was speaking to her. He looked hard around the edges, but his voice was soft with the trace of an accent. It was soothing. It was making her feel better but he was speaking a language she didn't understand. It wasn't enough to make her want to drop the shield.

"I think you're scaring her." Eli suggested.

"No, she just doesn't have enough reason to trust us." Again, his tone was light and gentle. Rush kept his eyes on her, kept memorizing her features.

"Should we radio the Colonel?"

"No, it's bad enough that we are here and she can't understand us. Add more people to the mix and we'll provoke her into an action that we may no be able to counter." Rush explained using his vast intellect to try and understand her actions.

"And you suddenly know this how?"

"Eli, look at her." Rush risked a glance to him. "She's frightened, and rightly so." Looking back to the girl Nicholas touched her shield again. There was a slight hum to it. That made him smile. She was generating the power herself. She was power.

Five looked at the man with the long hair. He was talking to her and she wasn't understanding a word he was saying. This could get frustrating real quick. But she was going to have to trust someone. And the fist step would have to be with her. Dropping her hands Five lowered the shield around her. Without all of her focus on the shield the pain in her leg burned a new in her mind. Instantly her hands went to the burns, clutches them, as a whimper escaped.

Rush gazed at her leg where he knew the burns to be. Sliding closer to her slowly he reached out to her. "May I see?" The red head peered at him warily, but relented and stretched out her leg bracing her foot on his thigh. It was like an electric current going through him. Rush shook it off pushing up the fabric to expose the burns. There were a set of few fresh burns adding to a total of eight symbols just above her knee. "Eli, go and fetch TJ, tell her to bring salve and bandages."

"Oh gee is that all. Maybe you want a burger and some fries while I'm at it." Eli snapped.

"Eli, go now." Rush ordered keeping his eyes on the red head. She hadn't let her gaze waver from his. The door opened and then closed leaving them totally alone. "I know you don't understand me but someone will be back to help soothe the burns on your leg."

Five moved her leg back from him and huddled against the headboard. She wasn't sure what she should do. Did she dare try to communicate with him? Would he even be able to understand her? Five highly doubted it. There was no way that she would risk using her other legacies until she knew for certain that these people weren't going to hurt her. The man may make his voice gentle, his touch light, but the hard edges around his face had nothing to do with his age. He seemed dead inside, faking emotion. To her, he seemed to be going through the motions of day to day life. He looked empty.

To her left the doors opened again. The younger, rounder man came in with a blonde woman. Five was sorely tempted to use her teleporting legacy to get away to another level of the ship.

TJ came closer to sit on the edge of the bed so she could lay out everything that she would need to soothe the pain of the burn scars on the young woman's leg. Smiling at the red head she spoke gently, "Hi, I'm TJ."

"She doesn't understand us dear." Rush muttered.

"Just because she doesn't speak doesn't mean she can't understand us. There's no reason she can't know our names incase she does start talking." TJ looked back to her patient. "This is a salve for the burns. It will feel cold like ice for just a second." TJ motioned to her leg. The red head huddled next to the wall, close to Rush. "Maybe you should try." She looked at Rush.

"You've got to be joking."

"She's moving towards you." TJ muttered. "Just try." She handed over the gauze smeared with the salve.

More words were thrown at Five that she couldn't understand. It was making her crazy. The blonde was trying to convey something to her but she couldn't make it out. Next to her, she hadn't meant to get closer to him, the man with long hair took the gauze and was speaking to her again, still using gentle tones. He wrapped his fingers, his hand, around her ankle gently drawing her leg out straight into his lap. Five didn't know why she was allowing him to do this. The wounds didn't bother her much. But they were trying to help so she let them.

Rush could see, could read, the indecision in her eyes. She didn't trust them and she couldn't blame them. "I'm Nicholas Rush." He said giving in and telling the red head his name. "I hope you can understand us." Slowly, letting her watch what he was doing, Rush set the salve on her fresh burn. She hissed in pain, the first sign she could form words at all.

Five felt the cold spread over her wound. It stung but it was taking away the pain. First it was cold and then it turned into a soothing balm to her ravaged skin that told her she was alone. Then he repeated the action over on the last three burn scars. Five knew she could transfer her memories to him, to help him understand who she was. In return she could learn their language from him. There was the risk that they may hurt her. How could she convey to them who she was unless she knew their language. Five had to learn, but had no way to tell them that was what she was doing. Still, she would have to try something. But it could wait until after he was done wrapping the bandage around her wound.

Rush, somehow sensed a change in the red head. It was as if she had reached some sort of decision. He tied off the gauze making sure it would hold. Dropping his hands, Rush moved back, waited for her to do what she had set her mind to. "However you need to communicate, do so. I won't stop you."

Five felt the pain in her leg fade away. Soon the burns would scar over and be the only trace of her past. She looked around, looked at the blonde, at the other man, and then the dark haired man that now stood in the doorway. The other two looked at him as well. Five didn't know who he was, but he seemed to be a leader of sorts. She would have to communicate sooner rather than later. Locking her gaze with the long haired man she moved astride his lap letting her luimen shine at the tips of her fingers.

Rush felt a slight shudder jump through him as the red head sat astride his lap. No woman had done that to him and it made him a bit nervous. At the door Colonel Young had joined them. He was just about to open his mouth when Rush motioned him to be silent. "Let her do what she plans."

"Wrong time for a lap dance…" Eli muttered.

Rush ignored the young mans comment choosing to focus on the eyes of the woman in his lap. She let her finger tips glow threading them in his hair anchoring at the back of his head. Rush mirrored her putting his fingers into her hair at the back of her head. She took a deep breath feeling the heat pass from the tips of her fingers into his scalp. Out of reflex he closed his eyes. Lights exploded in his mind. He saw faces, star systems, planets, and other parts of her memory while she worked her way though him. He knew names, lies, knew what she was capable of. The memory transfer was just one of her abilities, until she broke the connection falling to his side. Rush leaned foreword putting his head in his hands.

"You have a lot rattling around in you head."

Rush looked at her, "You spoke…"

Five looked at him, "Yes, I spoke. I know your language now."

"I see we have a guest." Colonel Young spoke after seeing the light show. "And I have a question why no one told me about her."

"I'm sorry." Five looked at the dark haired man now able to understand what they were saying. "I am number five." She stood up from the bed, wavering on her feet. The man she had connected with put his hands on her hips to steady her. Reflex had her putting her hands on his shoulders.

"I could ask how you got here." Young asked coming to stand next to TJ.

"I don't remember. One minute I'm running through the lowers levels of the ship and the next I'm waking up here, in one of these beds with," Five looked at the man who still had his hands on her hips, "Him watching me."

Rush stood up leaving his hands where they were. "We found her in a time dilation field Colonel." He explained still staring at her. The last time he had been so enraptured with a woman, that woman had been his wife. It was the memory connection more than anything that kept him staring at her. Rush felt like he knew her, knew how she got the scar on her hip, the scar on her back just under her right shoulder blade. Idly he rubbed his thumbs back and forth over the rise of her hip bones while she fiddled with the ends of his hair. "Why am I doing this?"

"It's just residual from our memories intermingling. It'll fade in a few hours." Five lowered her gaze and continued, "I can stop if you like." This was the most touching she had ever had in life. When she had been with her guardian, they had never stayed on a planet for more than three days at a time. Certainly not long enough for her to ever have a relationship other than physical release.

"Oh, no it's alright. It doesn't bother me." Rush responded. It was odd that it didn't bother him. Young, TJ, and Eli were all in the room watching them. That should bother him, should make him uncomfortable, but staring at her put him at ease. He had some of her memories, just enough to know her.

Five saw the healing scab on his cheek. Since he had bandaged her leg, brought her out of the time dilation field she could heal his wound. "Stay still." Five let the tips of her fingers glow and then traced the wound on his right cheek. "For letting me inside your mind."

"Thank you." Rush muttered feeling the heat on his skin taking away. He ran his index finger down her sternum, over the stars, over the circles and triangles and squares. "What is this?"

"It's my home galaxy." Five answered looking down. "Only the nine wear it, are born with it appearing on different parts of our bodies." She smiled looking only at Rush. She knew there were others in the room watching them. From the result of their memories merging Five was temporarily enraptured with him. All she could see for the moment is him. It wasn't a hardship; he was pleasing to her eyes at least.

"Does anyone else get the feeling of being ignored?" Eli asked looking at TJ and Colonel Young. It was kind of awkward seeing Rush with a woman that he completely focused on. The girl was easy on the eyes with her red hair, gentle caramel skin, and emerald eyes. Her voice was a gentle lilting melody that had his mind doing twirls of delight.

"Are you hungry?" Rush asked ignoring Eli's comments. In fact he was ignoring everyone else in the room other than her. "I could take you to the mess hall." It was a terrible thing to inflict on her, but he sensed her need to eat. He couldn't recall the last time he ate as well. A break was needed and he would enjoy the time he could take to talk to her more.

"Even though you think the food is terrible?" Five teased. "It's been 15 hours since I last had anything to eat." The last meal she had eaten had been in a gleaming city with strange people staring at her. She hadn't give credence to the stairs as she voraciously devoured the food in front of her. Hunger had gotten the better of her as it was now.

"15 hours?" Eli questioned trying to gain some attention and trying not to be ignored.

Five looked at the younger man who spoke. Calling on Rush's memories she knew him to be Eli. "Well, ok, maybe not 15 hours… more like 15,000 years… I think. Time is blurry right now." Her eyes went back to Rush's. His memories were still all a jumble in her mind. She could only use them enough to speak, to understand, and to recognize the crew.

Rush stepped aside and caught the eye of Colonel Young sensing what he was going to say, "We should at least feed her before we ask her questions." He was being considerate, thinking of her needs. What more had she done to him? It wasn't bothering him at all. This change in his behavior was due to her memories integrating into his mind.

"All right." Young relented easily knowing that it was the right thing. If Rush was occupied it would keep the man from lying to anyone. That was the one good thing about this red head show up. "You got two hours to feed her then I want her in my office to talk."


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: Rush finds another person on Destiny trapped in a time dilation field.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of SGU or the movie I AM NUMBER FOUR

Rating: T+

**I AM NUMBER FIVE:**

**MESS HALL:**

Rush brought over two plates of fruit and vegetables that passed for being edible on the ship. Seeing the girl named Five had him feeling more and more like his old self when he hadn't been consumed with work. "Do you have a name other than Five?"

"No…" Five answered. "I was never given a name." She took a red fruit popping it in her mouth to chew. A moan escaped her. Never had food tasted so good. "This is good."

"You think so?" Rush was surprised. The food, to him, was mediocre at best. It was a nice surprise to see someone enjoy it.

"The last piece of food I had was this yellow square." Five spoke with her mouth full. Manners weren't so important to her right now. She was ravenous. "But then again, to someone who is starving, anything tastes good no matter what." Before she knew it her plate was empty and Rush was pushing his over to her. "Oh… no," Five motioned, "You need to eat."

"I'm fine." Rush shook his head. He was happy to give her his rations for the day. Normally, he pushed his body beyond what it could take and still he could claim he was fine.

"No, you're not." Five pushed the plate back over to him. "I know…" Rush put his hand over her mouth making her smile. He was acting different then she would have thought. From his memories he was antisocial and closed off. But with her, he was warm and he was being considerate.

"Fine," Rush removed his hand and ate what he had on his plate.

"I was once called Cyra." Five commented trying not to notice all the people watching them. "It was something I heard while on a planet I was exploring. That's seems as good as anything to call me." She smirked.

**COLONEL YOUNGS OFFICE:**

"We have an unknown person on this ship and you're letting her run free." Camille accused after being brought up to speed about what had been happening.

"She's not roaming free." Young pointed out, "She's with Rush."

"Oh, yes… that's much better." Camille crossed her arms.

"She seems to have bonded with Rush even before she started to speak." TJ threw in. "She did something… I don't even know what." In truth it all happened so fast, TJ wasn't even sure what she had seen happen between Rush and the girl.

"She learned from my memories on how to communicate." Rush said standing in the door with Cyra next to him. "She's not dangerous."

"How can you know that?" Camille looked at the red head standing with Rush.

"Because I showed him," Five spoke. "I can show you if you want." Her energy reserves were low, any minute she would pass out. This had to be done. They had to know that she wasn't a threat to them.

"It won't hurt Camille," Rush assured. "It's actually quite relaxing." There had been a knot inside of him that only loosened after Cyra connected with him, passed her memories on to him.

"Is there no other way?" Camille questioned.

"You won't trust my word alone." Five knew it, had known it the moment she and rush entered the mess hall. The only way she was going to gain their trust was to show them rather than tell them.

"I'll pass thank you." Wray stalked back over to the desk. She didn't want to know that way. Camille liked to talk.

"I on the other hand will want to know you are no threat." Young came to stand in front of the red head. "What do we have to do?"

"Ok, Ummm…" Five went to sit on the couch. "If you could sit facing me it will help."

Young walked over and did as he was asked. He sat down and faced the young woman. There was no telling what he would see, what she could do to him, but he would have to be aware of what she was capable of. "TJ, keep an eye on us."

"Yes sir."

Five looked at Rush, "Could you sit behind me and put you left hand on my lower back. Make sure it's skin to skin." His hand touched her skin making a connection between them. "Colonel, you won't feel any pain, just a little heat." Calling on her legacy the tips of her fingers began to glow. "All you'll see are flashes of what happened to me and probably feel some of my pain from past injuries. Try and go with the flow." Five thread her fingers into his hair anchoring the tips on the back of his skull. Memories played between like a stream of water. She showed the colonel her trek through the universe, all the battles she had been in, all the times she had been injured. One memory caught her by surprise breaking the connection between them. Five fell back against Rush.

Colonel Young saw flashes, felt pain, and suffered loss. He could see her walking along an alien stream, or sitting in a tavern talking to some random stranger. He could even see her as a child laughing, playing on a ship at drift in an FTL corridor. Then he saw her weeping over the body of an old woman. He could feel her sorrow her anguish as she realized that she was now alone. The connection broke suddenly with the girl falling back against Rush. She was unconscious.

Rush was brought along for the ride, he saw what she was showing Young, but he had already seen it. Those memories were now apart of him, more pain to add to the grief he already had. Though, now apart of him was the joy she had once felt at exploring. Connecting with Cyra had given him something he had thought long dead. He now cold trust someone; completely. Rush put his fingers to her pulse to make sure she was fine. Cyra was only unconscious. She must have worn herself out.

"Is she ok?" TJ asked checking the Colonel's pulse.

"Just like before, she's just unconscious." Rush stroked her cheek gently. "Cyra…" He whispered trying to bring her back. Her head moved to the side, her eyes moving under her lids. "I'll take her to rest." Rush looked at the Colonel, at TJ, and Camille. Putting his arm under her knees, Nicholas stood up with Cyra in his arms. She was so light, seemingly so delicate, but she carried great strengths within her; great power.

"Rush," Young said, "She's your responsibility now." The last thing they all needed was for a new face to be running around, potentially causing trouble. If anyone could ferret out a plot it would be Rush. The man could see patterns, predict what people would do.

"Certainly." Rush agreed holding Cyra closer to him. Leaving the Colonel's office, Rush went to his quarters. Each room he passed, each person he passed stared at him. This was something none of them had seen. He was carrying a woman, an alien at that. Rush didn't care.

Waiting for the door to close Young radioed Eli telling him to put a kino on Rush and the mysterious red head.

Down three levels Nicholas elbowed the door control to open the hatch on his quarters. Inside everything was as he left it; the covers rumpled, pillows in disarray, and little notebooks scattered on the bed. Gently, Nicholas put Cyra down and covered her with one of the blankets. He knew he should go back and do some work; his mind screamed at him to do so, but the part of her that resided in him now urged him to lie down with her and wait till she wakes up.

That part of him won out. Rush sealed the door on his quarters, kicked off his shoes, and climbed behind her draping his arm over her. She was so warm, so comforting. It was lulling him into sleep. It had been so long since he had had any sort of rest at all, allowed his body to shut down to truly sleep. The last ounce of strength he had, Nicholas turned off the Ancient Lamp by the bedside. A deep sigh escaped him letting his body settle.

**ELI'S QUARTERS:**

Eli sat at he console in his room watch the live kino footage that Young ordered him to put on Rush and the girl known as Five. So far, twelve hours ago, they had been sleeping and just sleeping. It was kind of boring just watching them through the grate. Eli felt like some sort of voyeur. But, Young had ordered him, and so he sat and watched. They just slept.

"Eli." Young came in looking at the console. Rush and Five were still sleeping. "Anything so far?"

"Nope. They are still sleeping and have been sleeping for twelve hours." Eli responded scrubbing his hands over his face.

"I think this is the longest Rush has ever slept since we've been here." Young muttered. "Let me know if they move."

On the screen Five and Rush started to move. "Uhh… they're moving."

Young looked back to the screen where Five rolled over, pillowing her head on Rush's chest, and his arms came around her. The scene played out as if they had been together for years, not only mere hours. Young recalled one of the memories; the first time she looked at Rush. Five hadn't been afraid of him. "Let me know when they wake up at least."

Rush felt himself coming back to the waking world unbelievably warm. A body was next to him, wrapped around him; Cyra. They had fallen asleep together as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do. Part of him felt as if he had known her all his life. He felt so comfortable with her. Breathing deeply Nicholas tangled his fingers in her shock of red hair keeping her close to him. Then, knowing exactly where to touch, Rush felt the curving scar just under her right shoulder blade. The black material of her shirt did nothing to hide it.

Cyra rubbed her cheek against the worn fabric of Rush's shirt. The exhaustion she had felt was gone; just gone. Her legacies drained her quickly and would have to be used more to make her stronger again. Only, there was a new challenge now; Rush. For the first time in her life she had shared and linked her memories with another person. Five, or Cyra, as Rush was calling her had never wanted someone to know her like that. Except, when she saw him, saw his eyes, she knew she wanted him to know her to see her memories. "Hi," Cyra mumbled.

"Feel better?" Rush asked. While he had been asleep he had seen places he had never been, talked to people he had never known, and been on the run from planet to planet. It was so odd to have another person's memories buried inside his mind. When he looked at her, he knew her inside and out. Nicholas had never had that with his wife or with Mandy. It was so odd, except in a good way. He knew he could trust her in ways he couldn't trust others.

"I do. I dreamed of a place, a school I think," Cyra pulled herself up, sat by his side. Even in sleep she hadn't had the time to sort through all of his memories. She had seen him as a young man entering college, working his way through, and then she had seen the moment he was offered a position with the SGC.

"Oxford is the school you saw." Rush reached his hand up to touch the shard with the symbol carved on it. He knew it to be her number. She was number Five. "How come you don't have names?" It was the one question he couldn't answer on his own.

"Well, I never knew my parents. Nine Lorien children were sent away from our planet when we were infants with guardians to protect us. Every two hundred years children of the Lorien guard are tasked with learning for the first 25 years of their life from other species." Cyra brought the edge of her pants leg up to show him the first four burn scars she had. "I got this one when I was two years old letting me know that Three had died. Seven's mark didn't appear until I was eight, and then when I was 18 Four and Six died with in days of each other. All nine of us were connected. When one died we all felt it."

Nicholas sat up and cupped Cyra's face. "That's got to be terrible for you knowing that the others are dead." He felt her pain, the loss she felt over the others, even though she hadn't been near them. Knowing someone was dead and seeing them were two different things. Rush had seen people die; he had even taken a life, but Cyra knew it and had to live with the memory burned onto her skin with the added knowledge that she could never have done anything about it.

"I think the hardest part is not knowing if my people are still alive." Cyra put her right hand over the star map on her chest. "I don't even know if my planet still exists."

"Maybe we could search Destiny's database and see if they came across your planet." Rush suggested.

"No, it's ok." Cyra shook her head. "I can live with not knowing." She didn't want to start to hope that there could be a home for her. Hope would kill her if it failed. Right now, she could live in the moment. She could go about getting re-acclimated to the ship. Maybe she could help out if she was needed, or even trusted.

Rush opened his mouth when his radio went off, "Rush this is Young, come in." he grabbed his radio and snarled, "Rush here, what do you want?"

"We need you up on the bridge." Young radioed.

Rush growled. "I'll be back later." He brushed his knuckles down her cheek before pulling on his shoes and heading up to the bridge.

Camille Wray sat in one of the large chairs on the observation deck watching the Destiny as the ship traversed the stars in an FTL corridor. She was consumed with thoughts of the girl who had suddenly appeared on board. More than that Camille had noted the way Rush had watched her. There had never been another person on board other than the visit from Dr. Perry that she had seen Nicholas Rush so concerned with another person. Something about that girl had ensnared him. Camille couldn't blame him. The girl, Five, was gorgeous with her shock of long red hair, the emerald of her eyes, and the caramel of her skin. She seemed to have grown attached to Rush in return. For now she would reserve judgment of the girl. Colonel Young seemed convinced she was no threat. It was part of the reason he was meeting with General O'Neill via the stones to apprise him of what was going on. Camille expected there to be a meeting with Five and Rush and another member of Homeworld Command so they could talk to her.

"Is this seat taken?"

Camille looked up, pulled out of her thoughts, to see said Red head she was just thinking about. "Uhh, no… please sit." She indicated the chair next to her feeling a little nervous.

Five sat down next to Camille Wray who she had a semi understanding of from Nicholas's memories. They didn't exactly see eye to eye on most things. Sometimes they managed to agree but mostly Rush stayed to himself. It was how he liked it. "Thank you." Five looked out at the rest of Destiny. When she had been here the first time she hadn't had much time to explore, to see what the ship had to offer. While she had been sleeping, allowing Nick's memories to incorporate themselves into her, she had recalled this view several times. It was one of his favorites. "May I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what do you want to know?" Camille angled her body toward Five waiting for the young woman to ask.

"Am I going to be put in a holding cell?" Five couldn't handle being in a confined space. She hadn't known any better inside the time field. Now that she was out there was no way she wanted to be confined again.

"As far as I know, no you won't be in a cell," Camille caught Rush lingering by the open door of the OPS Deck. Again, he was watching Five. He had the most curious expression on his face. "But I do know a representative of Homeworld Command will want to speak with you, to find out how you came to be here."

"I don't remember how I got here." Five mentioned. "I do remember coming through the gate," She fingered the pendant she wore; the pendant that bore her name; Five. To her people she had been a number, nothing more. When Rush would call her Cyra she felt like a new person, not a number.

"May I ask why they call you Five?" Camille wondered.

"Tradition," Five answered but not really answering. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Nicholas standing, leaning against the door with his arms crossed. It was his normal stance and it had her smiling.

"I can understand tradition." Camille commented.

"Am I interrupting?" Rush sauntered over lightly running his fingers over Cyra's red hair.

"Would you care?" Camille fired back.

"No, not really," Rush smirked and then focused on Cyra, "If you're up to it, I want to show you something."

"Yeah?" Five felt eagerness blossom inside of her. A broad grin spread over her lips. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Rush answered tapping the symbol on her pendant "Come on." He motioned with his head to the door completely ignoring the looks he was getting from Camille, from Park and Greer by the railing. Right now he wanted to revel in the feeling of being with Cyra. He hadn't felt this connected with another person since Mandy's death.

Five smiled at Camille, "I hope we can talk again some time." She got up keeping her eyes on Rush. He was smiling at her; smiling a real smile. It was something Five could tell he hadn't done in a long while. "Take me anywhere." She teased acting like she had known him for years rather than hours.

Over by the railing Park looked at Greer, "Who is that?"

"I don't know, but it looks like Rush made a new friend." Greer answered her. He was secure in the knowledge that if this person was trouble then the Colonel wouldn't hesitate to bring him in, to contain the new person with whatever force was required. Right now it looked like the doctor had the girl under control.

Rush got Cyra out in the hall and down to the next level before he would even stand closer to her. Where he was taking her no one would be right now. For now, Volker was down in hydroponics and Brody was making some repairs to a section of the ship that had been damaged in the last attack. Even Young was back on Earth telling Homeworld Command about Cyra. The bridge would be empty. Lightly Rush rested his hand against her lower back where he had had it before when she was showing Young that she wasn't a threat. Cyra stepped closer to him then.

She didn't know where they were going, but as long as it was him and no one else Cyra would go along. The first time she had been here the ship had been nearly dead; no lights, no people, barely any air. It had been a miracle that she had survived at all. A memory surfaced then. It was of her running, taking corridor after corridor down in the lower levels. She didn't know where she was going, but she had to go back. Breaking from his side Cyra used her teleportation.

Rush didn't know what had happened. One minute she was next to him, the next she had vanished into what looked like blue flames. Just a flash of memory ignited in his mind giving Rush a vague idea on where she would go. To make sure no one bothered them he clicked his radio off before going after her.

Back in the part of the ship she had been found on Cyra came to a blinding halt. There was something here that she would need. It called to her, demanded that it be found. To her left a door was jarred open just enough for her to look inside. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary with it, but she sensed that what she was looking for was in here. Wedging herself in between the doors Cyra pushed them apart until they were opened all the way. The darkness wasn't so much that she couldn't see. It just took Cyra a few seconds to adjust her sight. Over in the far corner were storage bins, Ancient cargo containers. Five watched where she was stepping. As much as she could recall, this section still need repairs; lots of repairs.

Going over to the far bin in the corner Cyra crouched down and pushed open the lid revealing what was inside. It was her stuff. When had she hidden that here? Too much of her memories were blurry. Five reached in and hauled out the huge duffel that contained her clothes and a few weapons she would need as well as a memento from her parents. A creak sounded behind her. Quickly her hand grabbed the hilt of her dagger, the end lit up, and she turned to see Rush in the doorway. Lowering the blade Cyra smiled apologetically. "Sorry." Sheathing the blade, the glow dulled, and she hefted the duffel over her shoulder. "I forgot this stuff was even here."

Rush chuckled. It was semi amusing. For now he would table asking her about the teleportation. There was nothing to gain from asking her right now. "At least you have something else to wear." That was more than the rest of the crew could have. Even he had to make do with the jeans, the boots, the two layers of shirts, and the vest he was currently wearing. The last time he had had a change of clothes was the away mission where Young left him on the planet. He had been in combat boots and BDU's for that. "Come on let's get out of this section." Rush offered her his hand to take. He wasn't sure why, only that he wanted to feel the weight of her hand in his. They barely knew anything about each other and at the same time he could recall the first time she had take a step, the first planet she had been on, he could even recall the first time she had had to defend herself. Cyra took his hand walking away with him.

On the bridge Rush pulled Cyra inside with him as the lights came on. The bridge rose up out of the hull allowing the illumination from the FTL corridor come in adding to the light. Beside him Cyra dropped his hand moving into the room. She didn't get much farther from him before he grabbed the strap of her duffel and pulled it from her shoulder to set it aside.

Cyra was in awe of this place. She barely noticed Rush taking hr duffel from her shoulders. Monitors came to life, buttons and switches lit up. It was all amazing to her. This technology is at the same level as her people were when she left her home, but this ship was far older. "Amazing." Five sighed in awe. "This is…"

Rush set the duffel on the floor before going to her. "I spent two months up here, alone, trying to do the work of an entire crew." Those two months he had barely slept and barely ate. Every waking moment he had spent here trying to gain more control of Destiny. Nicholas crossed his arms watching Cyra move from console to console. It was struggle to tell her not to touch anything. From the memories he still harbored of her, she was brilliant, and knew her way around a ship's systems. She could even make repairs on the fly.

Cyra looked over the console that was responsible for taking energy readings all over the ship. There were a few ships systems that could be run at half the power while increasing the strength to other parts of the ship like the shields. Pushing the right buttons, flicking a switch and turning a dial, Cyra diverted power from the lower decks where they had just come from. The ship registered the new adjustments. A few new beeps joined in with the rest.

"What did you do?" Rush asked coming up behind her to scan the adjustments she made.

"I regulated your power consumption. Now you have more and you don't have to refuel as often." Cyra looked at him registering his minor irritation at not being the one to think of it. "In my defense it was in your head. I just figured out how to make it work." She gave him a broad innocent grin. "There were a few systems on that didn't need to be."

Rush dropped a kiss to the top of her head, "Brilliant."

"What is she doing up here?"

Rush turned to see Colonel Young, and Lt. Scott standing up the upper level of the bridge. Somehow he knew that Lt. Scott was not the LT. "Colonel Teleford I take it?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest in a defiant stance.


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: Rush finds another person on Destiny trapped in a time dilation field.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of SGU or the movie I AM NUMBER FOUR

Rating: T+

**I AM NUMBER FIVE:**

"Rush," Scott/Teleford inclined his head, "Gotten anyone killed lately?"

"Nope, but the day is still young, I'm sure I could manage it." Beside him Cyra got out of the chair to look at the new arrival.

"Who's that?" She whispered. The man looked at her like she should be locked up and never let out again. It didn't go over with her very well.

"I'm Colonel Teleford from Homeworld Command. I've been sent here to talk to you."

"Ahh…" To Rush she muttered in her own language. "I don't like the sound of it."

"Yeah, well, he's not the most pleasant of individuals." Rush replied in her native tongue without missing a beat. He stopped and looked at her. He had spoken an alien language without thought. Another side effect of the memory transfer?

"Rush?"

Nic looked at Col. Young, "What?"

"Can we get this over with?" Scott/Teleford demanded.

"So much for a friendly chat," Cyra muttered moving away from Rush to grab her duffel and wait for the two military men. More than anything she wanted to be with Nicholas Rush. It was him that she had connection with. The sensation was strange, all consuming. What had she been thinking?

Back in the Colonel's office Cyra sat on the couch across from Young and the one called Teleford. He fixed her with an unfriendly stair that was beginning to annoy her. Cyra sat back draping her right leg over her left while trying to hard not to look at Rush or Camille. All she wanted was to be back up on the bridge, close to Rush. She had so much time to make up for, so much to learn, to see. It wasn't like she could go anywhere.

"Five, this isn't an inquisition." Young said trying to put her at ease. Despite her lazy pose on the opposite couch he could read the tension in her. "We just want to talk."

"So start asking me something." Cyra prodded. The stare being pinned on her was making her irritated. She had memories of Teleford from Rush, and they weren't the most flattering. At one point he had been a traitor. Sewing discord among the crew taking over command from Young and then nearly getting everyone killed.

"They tell me your name is Five." Teleford stated.

"I am number Five yes." Cyra replied. "So?" She shrugged bringing her knees up to her chest.

"Why a number?" Teleford asked growing suspicious of the girl in front of him. She had been here the whole time and he hardly believed that she had been stuck in a time dilation field. David didn't believe Rush about her at all.

"Why is your name Teleford?" Cyra challenged.

"It was my parent's last name."

"Good for you. I didn't have parents, and thus no name." Cyra admitted crossing her arms over her chest leaning back into the couch.

"Then who raised you?" Young inquired.

"A Guardian," One lone tear sprang to her eye at the memory of the woman who had devoted her life to Five. Her long service had been repaid with death so that she could live, she could escape.

"Why isn't she here with you?" It was Teleford this time.

Cyra looked away, locked her eyes on the aged metal of the wall, "Because she's dead." The response was cold, chilly. She wanted the ice. It would help to numb the pain later when the dreams came. If, for one second, she started to remember, to talk about it the dreams would come and torment her with the death of the only person she had ever known.

"How'd that happen?" Teleford had the edge of accusation in his voice.

Cyra dug her fingers into her arm trying to quell the rage rising in her. This man was beginning to annoy her. If she refused to answer he could use it and say she was hiding something. If she did answer and he didn't believe her then he could say she was lying. Right now she was in a no win situation. Cyra tracked her gaze to Rush. He only leaned his head on the wall, but his eyes told her it would be alright. "We were under attack. She died."

"But how?" Again the accusation.

"That is none of your business. It was long before you or your blood line was even thought of." Cyra snarled rising from the couch to pace.

"This isn't helping." Camille jumped in. "Five, you don't have to talk about that." She moved away from Rush over to the younger woman. "Tell us how you came to be on the Destiny. Can you remember?" slowly she reached out ad put her hand on Five's shoulder to try and calm her. But the red head wasn't looking at her. She was looking over Camille's shoulder to where Rush stood just away from the group.

"I don't remember much, just scattered flashes." Cyra shook her head. "One minute we're being attacked and then the next I'm waking up in some sort of med station with strangers looking at me. Like I did with Colonel Young, I drew on their memories to learn their language. They called themselves Lanteans." She would forgo mentioning that she had first used her legacies on Rush, learned from him, and then gave him some of her memories in return.

Rush stood straighter after hearing that answer. He had been trying to sift through all of her memories in his mind as best he could. Most of it was still a jumble of faces, voices, places, and battles. It made his head hurt. But hearing that she knew the Lanteans made him pay attention more.

"I was injured during some sort of battle. I don't know with whom." Cyra kept her gaze level with Rush's. "One of them told me that I had crashed the ship into the ocean. I nearly drowned." Instantly her hand flew to the once prominent gash she had had before it was healed completely by the doctors.

"Where did you end up?" Young answered trying to calm the tension in the room that David had incited.

"I think they called it Atlantis. But I had a head injury so I might have misunderstood." Cyra shrugged her shoulders. Something about her memories of coming here felt false, like they had been implanted inside her. They were the best she had at the moment.

"That's impossible." Teleford exclaimed.

"It's the best I can do." Cyra nearly shouted.

"Actually 15,000 years ago this ship may have been in range of the Pegasus Galaxy." Rush suggested. "They had Zero Point energy to draw on. To them, dialing this ship from Atlantis would have been easy for them." Putting his attention back on Cyra, Rush asked, "Why'd they only send you."

"I don't know. I wasn't even supposed to be here." Cyra angled her head. "One of them smuggled me to the gate room and dialed the ship giving me the time dilation device. He told me to go to one of the lower levels and stay there." That was she could remember. "I like I said I had a head injury. My memory isn't the best in the world when it comes to how I got here." All she wanted to do was go back to sleep, to curl up under the blankets and listen to Rush as he paced around his quarters writing in his little notebooks. She had never experienced that before, but she was eager for the chance. He was the only on the ship not treating her like she was an alien. All of her feelings, her wants, were a little on the crazy side. She hardly knew Nicholas Rush and he hardly knew her. The memory transfer she could do with her Legacy had never allowed her to do so until now, until being woken up by him. It made no sense whatsoever. Cyra couldn't take her eyes off of him.

Nicholas watched her. She was growing bored, irritated by the questions of Colonel Teleford. He couldn't really blame her. The man was a source of endless irritation for him and pointless questions. At least, for limited amounts of time Teleford was on the Destiny and not here every waking hour bringing his abrasive attitude to everyone he encountered. Rush would much rather be in his vacant hallway trying to solve some of the problems aboard ship with Cyra stretched out watching him, offering her help when she could. The need to have her alone was on a level of insanity he thought he would never reach. She was deeply rooted in his mind now, more so than Claudia or Mandy had been. Logically he knew it was because of her memories he had. Yet, somehow he knew he would feel like this without her memories. Cyra was a marvel to behold. A being of immense power.

"What did you do before coming to Atlantis?" Young asked. He had seen her move from planet to planet; sometimes by gate or sometimes by ship. He hadn't really figured out why they moved around.

"We never stayed too long in any one place. It was dangerous."

"Why?" Rush asked.

"Inhabitants had heard of my planet, of the Lorien guard and what we could do. Imagine getting your hands on someone like that and selling them as a slave." If she had been smarter and not so drawn in by Rush, then she wouldn't be speaking to him now, wouldn't have the burning need to be near him. If only she could reach out to him, to feel the strands of his hair running through her fingers. Rush was the only one she could trust right now.

"They would have sold you?" Camille jumped in.

"Yes," reluctantly turning from him, Cyra focused on Camille. Under the regular black shirt she wore Cyra had on a light weight camisole. Gripping the hem of the shirt, she took the top layer off revealing the brand she had. It was a representation of the galaxy she lived in. "This is how they would known me. I wear the map to my home galaxy for all to see."

Teleford rose from his chair and came to the red head. He looked intently at the marks, even making a move to reach his hand out to trace the nearest shape. A blue shield came up around her deflecting his hand. "I can see why someone would want you." He commented. "What else can you do?"

"My legacies, my secrets. You don't need to know." Cyra answered dropping her shield. Without the others seeing Rush put his hand on her back, the warmth of his palm touching her skin. The contact was like an electric circuit being completed.

"How are we to assess if you are a threat to us?" Teleford asked.

"I'm no threat." Cyra stated, urging them to believe her.

"There you see Colonel. It's all settled." Rush crossed his arms over his chest, as per his normal stance staring at Teleford who inhabited Lt. Scott's body.

"Stay out of this Rush."

"This is over." Cyra growled. "Colonel Young if you have more questions for me, you ask. Keep the Neanderthal at home." One more scathing look at Teleford, Cyra left. Rush wasn't far behind her.

Cyra was back at Nic's quarters before she even realized where she was going. In a fit of anger Cyra threw her duffel at the opposite wall watching it drop to the floor and a silver box fall out. As quickly as her rage came, seeing the silver box made it all fade away. She trudged over to the opposite wall and sat down under the view port cradling the only gift from her parents in her lap. The box was ornately decorated with silver relief and a large blue gem in the center that acted as a locking mechanism. It would only open for her and her alone.

Rush stood aside and let her be angry. He had felt that way many times himself in the past here on Destiny, most of the time he would just wonder around to calm down. Of course when that happened, as soon as he was calm, another problem would crop up to send him back into the red. Across the room Cyra sat down on the deck with a silver box in her hand. Joining her, Rush sat down and waited. "You gonna open it?" He asked.

Cyra shook her head, "I don't know. For 24 years I have had this, a gift from my parents, and I have yet to open it." Knowing that she could, knowing that it was acceptable, Cyra leaned her head on his shoulder staring at the box. "It's the only thing I have left of them."

"Still, don't you want to open it?" Rush asked again. He took her left hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "It's been 15,000 years."

The tips of her fingers started to glow. Cyra put them on the blue gem and concentrated. A small click sounded around them, then another, and another. The lid of the box hissed open. Ethereal green light filled the room, wrapped around them as a melodious voice began to speak. "You are my daughter, you are my five. Even though we can not be together during this time, know that I love you and that your legacies will protect you until you are home again." Her heart clenched in her chest, tears gathered. Five had never heard her mother's voice except in her dreams. Now to know, to hear it, she longed for home all the more. The message faded, the glow dying away to reveal thin pictures. Just three simple pictures lay inside. One was of hr mother when she was a child. One was of her father as a child. The last one was of her as an infant, her mother, and her father. Cyra removed the photos to reveal one last gift. It was the same blue stone, just smaller affixed to a chain. When her luimen touched it an eerie melody played taking away her sadness. Something about the song made her long for home, long for a world that could very well be nothing more than a graveyard. 15,000 years was a long time to be away from home.

Rush just sat by her side, holding her hand and letting her do what she had to. He listened to the message with her and felt a shudder go through her. That had been the closest she had ever come to her parents. Now it was 15,000 years later; that family was dead and gone. Her whole world could be ravaged by time, nothing but dust. It pained him to know that the sound of her mother's voice could bring pain to her. She set the box aside choosing to wrap her free arm around his hiding her eyes in his shoulder. Cyra didn't sob, she didn't whimper, she didn't rage. All she did was let silent tears of long held off grief fall. In the privacy of his quarters Nicholas rested his chin against her head and let her grieve. He knew loss, he knew sadness. When his wife died, he died with her; the man he had been. He threw himself into work, into solving problems. Then the SGC had gotten a hold of him where he met Amanda Perry, a bright shining mind who helped to bring some semblance of his former self back to life. Time went on, he came to Destiny, and he brought her here where she died. To face it, to begin to move on from it Rush went off the ship to the plant Gin/Mandy's murderer had fled to and lured him into a stampede where he had been injured. Nic had taken no mercy on him, on Simian a Lucian Alliance member. He had stood over his injured body, aimed the gun, and pulled the trigger putting a bullet in Simian's brain. There had been no looking back.

"I never thought it would hit me like this." Cyra muttered. She hadn't even known her parents, had no siblings, no friends. Why was she acting like this?

"She was your mum." Rush said.

"Yeah," Cyra sat up, "But I didn't know her." More tears slipped free. He brought his hands up, cupping her face and using his thumbs he wiped away her tears. Nic left his hands where they were and Cyra was in no hurry for him to move them. Mirroring him she cupped his face feeling the bristles of his beard ticking her palm. It was enough to nearly make her laugh.

There in her eyes, Rush saw a small light of humor. She was going to smile some time soon; he could feel it. It made him feel better to know that she wasn't as sad as she had just been. Being able to be gentle, Rush stroked her cheeks over and over. This was a side of himself that he had kept carefully locked away. Other times it had caused him too much pain. The last time Mandy had been quarantined in a part of Destiny's systems. Cyra wasn't Mandy. Cyra was a flesh and blood person, not someone who had died because of him. She was strong enough to survive so much; Cyra could survive him. Pulling her close Rush angled his lips over hers giving her a light kiss.

**NEXT AFTERNOON:**

Cyra focused on Rush as the sat in the mess hall eating, talking, and they were laughing. She was actually getting a chance at having a normal life, something she had dreamed of one too many times. It was the staring that she wasn't getting used to; all the people on the ship were staring at her. Rush seemed to ignore it. He seemed used to it. "Why do they stare?" Cyra asked.

"They're staring?" Rush quipped. In truth, he knew they had been being watched by everyone. He was used to it. Either he was being stared at or ignored. "They've just never seen anyone like you." It was the simplest answer he could come up with.

"Anyone like me?" Cyra pondered. She looked down at herself; the stars on her body stuck out at her. Today she had changed out of clothes she had been wearing for 15,000 years into a vest of worn black leather that had seen her through more than a few fights, matching pants, her boots, and the necklace that had been in the box left to her by her parents. The vest showed off her mark more than it was hidden. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Cyra, you're different, more different than anyone has seen in our galaxy." Rush explained, "The closest we have come to an 'alien' has been the race known as theJaffa, the Goa'uld, the Tok'Ra and the Asgard. You are more than amazing. You're spectacular."

'"You really do know what to say to make me feel better." Cyra offered him a gentle smile. The connection she had made with him hadn't died away like she thought it would. As the time went on the connection between them was growing stronger. What had she done differently with him? Nothing as far as she knew, but that didn't mean that something hadn't happened. "I appreciate it. You're making feel welcome."

"I feel…" Rush started to say. In his heart he felt so connected to her. "You're so imbedded in my soul. If that makes any sense?"

"I'm sorry about that." Cyra apologized. "Something must have happened when I was giving you my memories that formed a link between us."

"Don't…" Rush shook his head. "I want this. I want to feel again." It didn't matter others were staring at him. All he saw was Cyra in front of him. She was what mattered now. Rush had a new reason for not wanting to go home. He could guess that she wouldn't want to be on his planet.

"What happens when you find a way home?" Cyra hadn't wanted to ask and she shouldn't have.

"I won't go. I was meant to end up on Destiny. I was meant to be here to find you." Rush answered. "Earth holds nothing for me anymore."

"You would stay here?" Cyra was shocked. She wanted to ask if he would stay with her, but she couldn't. That was not he sort of question she asked a complete stranger. He was still a stranger to her no matter the memories she possessed from him.

"I would stay with you on Destiny." Rush slid his hand over brushing the tips of her fingers. The look on her face told him all he needed to know. She would never have asked him, asked to keep him here if he had a chance to go home. "This ship is where I am supposed to be." He said again taking her hand.

Across the Mess Hall Eli, Chloe, and Scott watched Rush with the red head that had been found on the ship. "What do you think she is?" Chloe asked watching intently as Rush reached out his hand to touch hers. He was smiling gently at her. That is something Chloe had never seen.

"She's… well… she's pretty powerful." Ely answered watching rush as well. The ill tempered withdraw suffering genius was acting like a normal person since the discovery of Cyra.

"What do you mean?" Scott asked.

"She can create a shield to protect herself with." Eli looked at Matt. "I saw it when she first woke up and Rush was with her. Course then she did some major weirdness where she sat in his lap; put her hands on his head and then like magic she could talk."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah. I was there."

"She doesn't look that different?" Chloe commented. "She looks human enough."

"Yeah, except for the glowing finger tips she is completely human." Eli commented.

"And to think she's been here the whole time." Chloe couldn't imagine it. How could someone survive this long on a dilapidated ship? Enough time had passed by with nearly half the ship being explored. There could be other things lurking in the bottom of the ship that they know nothing about. This ship was a ticking time bomb of mysteries waiting to explode.

Rush had had enough of being stared at. Taking Cyra's hand he pulled her from the table, "Let's go to the observation deck. It should be deserted." Cyra kept her hand in his. Rush was surprisingly ok with it, with people seeing him with her. He knew she was no threat, she wouldn't exploit them. Time would tell if the others would come to see her in the same way he did.

"That sounds relaxing." Cyra answered keeping her hand in his as much for herself as anything. "You just want to get away from people." She teased as they walked out together feeling the eyes of everyone fading away.


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: Rush finds another person on Destiny trapped in a time dilation field.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of SGU or the movie I AM NUMBER FOUR

Rating: T+

**I AM NUMBER FIVE:**

On the observation deck Rush held Cyra against him as they lounged on the sofa watching Destiny travel through FTL. Cyra was so relaxed that she had slipped into sleep. All the time he had been on this ship, some days he had just wanted to sit here and watch space slip by. But he hadn't given in, not when there was work to be done. Though, he was sitting here now with work to be done. That didn't matter right now even though he was still working out ways to repair Destiny as he sat here. Colonel Young had said she was his responsibility and he was actually making her a priority. The feeling was still so strange to him.

Rush idly twisted a lock of her hair around his index finger as he thought. There were about 100 things on his To Do list that needed attending, yet he was here with her. Answers that had eluded him for weeks suddenly seemed so clear. He knew what he had to do to solve about a third of his problems. Nick should go and do them. He should be working. He just didn't want to. The Destiny dropped out of FTL waking Cyra up. They were in another star system.

Cyra had been lightly dozing in Nick's arms while they watched the ship go through FTL. Even though they appeared to be resting Rush kept working problem after problem that pertained to the ship and the numerous repairs she needed. As more time slipped by Cyra found she was able to access more and more of Rush's memories on the ship and better able to understand how to effect repairs. Of course she wouldn't be able to do any of the repairs because no one trusted her except Rush.

"Rush to the gate room."

Nick shook his head, "Duty calls." Rush got up with Cyra staring where she was. "Are you gonna stay here?"

"I wouldn't be very welcome." She shrugged, kicking back to curl up again. Cyra was still so tired. Then, he crouched down in front of her, reaching out and tugged lightly on a lock of her hair.

"Come on. I'll be there." Rush argued. "I'm not the most welcome person on this ship either." Gently, he tugged again getting her to smile at him. At first she buried her face in the cushion, but then she looked at him nodding.

"Will there be a planet?" Cyra asked rising from the couch stretching her arms over her head. A succession of cracks and pops sounded her joints protested.

"Won't know until we get there," Rush motioned to the open door hoping she would go with him. He didn't want to leave her here. Cyra made him feel things that should have been so buried, he thought them dead. Yet, here she was resurrecting the side of him that cared.

"Maybe it's some tropical beach planet that has white sandy beaches and crystal clear blue water." Cyra hoped.

"We'll find out when we get there." Rush chuckled at her.

Down in the gate room Rush moved over to the console while Cyra stayed over at the door. He looked at her but she shook her head staying where she was. The gate activated with an event horizon. Eli was there with a kino and a remote. He put it in the air to send it through the gate. Rush studied the console as data came back from the Kino. "Breathable air, plenty of vegetation; at seems we have an opportunity to gather food." Rush looked at Young then his gaze drifted to Cyra. She was staring at the gate in awe.

Young noticed Rush staring at the red head as the woman lingered by the door. "Scott this is Young. Get a team and come to the gate room." He ordered into his radio and then turned to Cyra. "You can come in the gate room if you want."

"I'm ok here." Cyra didn't want to give them any reason to lock her up. To do that she would stay out of the way and watch from a safe distance. Rush left the console coming to her. He didn't give her time to say anything. Taking her hand he pulled her over to the console blocking her in with his body, his arms preventing her escape. "Rush…"

"Tell me what you see." He whispered. Rush needed the colonel to see that Cyra could be helpful, able to contribute to the crew. Right now he needed to keep her out of a cell and out of military suspicion.

"Nothing," Cyra put her hands in her pockets. So much for staying out of the way.

Rush slid his hands over her hips taking her hands out of her pockets to place them on the console. "Look at the readings. What do you see?" Leaving her hands on the console Rush once again placed his on her hips keeping her in place.

Cyra assimilated the data. "Plenty of oxygen, lots of vegetation, and clean water. There could even be wild game to hunt." Just the thought of breathing fresh air appealed to her. She wanted to see the sky, feel the air on her skin. Cyra knew she wouldn't be allowed to go. She was still thought of as a threat.

"Whoa!" Eli exclaimed looking at the remote he carried. Something had run past the kino.

Cyra pulled up the kino feed and toggled back so she and Rush could see what Eli had seen. "Definitely signs of life." She froze the image of the alien creature.

"Looks like BBQ tonight." Greer chimed in looking over the console at the image. He noticed the girl drop her hands and lean into Rush trying to look as if she wasn't touching any of the controls.

"Could be a nice change." Rush commented studying the creature. "Looks like a cow."

"What's a cow?" Cyra felt confused and Rush just chuckled at her.

"An alien cow." Greer pointed out. "Let's go hunting."

"One thing at a time Sgt." Young chuckled.

"Yes sir."

Cyra angled her head and whispered, "Could we go?" she swore that she wouldn't ask. Yet, the words came out any way. The chance to at least taste fresh air was too much of a temptation.

"You want to go to this planet?" Rush asked kind of surprised.

"I want to breathe fresh air." Cyra replied looking at Colonel Young, "Please?"

"We'll wait and see what the terrain is like." Young commented. "When we get a perimeter and then send through another team. We have 48hrs on the clock."

Rush smirked putting his hands in Cyra's pockets. She was making an effort to fit in, to help out. He had never made much of an effort in the past, or recently. All Rush had been concerned with had been Destiny's mission. Then all that changed when he discovered her. The connection she had formed with him had gone a long way to bring back the humanity in him; his compassion. She had started to heal his heart, long broken from the death of two women he loved.

"Colonel Young, this is Scott. Come in."

"Go a head." Young replied.

"Sir we found what may be the remains of a town, an advanced town."

"All right LT. Secure the perimeter and I'll send in back up." Young looked at Cyra, "You still want to go?" So far things looked up, no drones, no command ship. So long as they stayed off the beaten path they would be fine.

"Yes…I want to help." Cyra replied.

"You'll go with TJ and Chloe…"

"I'll go to." Rush piped up. "If there's a town we could try and find other supplies. Maybe even spare parts to convert to use on Destiny."

"Really Rush?" Young was surprised. Normally the ill tempered loner let others go off the ship and he stayed here making what repairs he could or fiddling with the ships systems to gain a better understanding. Now he wanted to go off world. Guess whatever the red head had done to him had made Rush a different person, at least to some degree.

"Sure, why not? Fresh air sounds good to." He replied.

"Fine," young smiled to himself, "Get geared up."

In Rush's quarters, he sat on the end of the bed lacing up the combat boots over his jeans while Cyra paced in front of him. She had taken off the vest opting to put on her long sleeved light weight shirt back on. On her belt she had the odd dagger sheathed along with a radio. She passed in front of him forcing Rush to grab her arm pulling her to a stop. "Cyra what's wrong?"

"Huh?" She hadn't realized she was in motion until Nick pulled her to a stop. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking." Cyra didn't want to make any wrong moves while on this planet. It she made a move and it was construed as threatening then she might end up in a holding cell. That was the last place she wanted to be. "I just want to help." Cyra said again. It was all she was saying.

"I know." Nick stood brushing back a lock of her fire red hair. "Soon, the Colonel and the others will realize that too and begin to see you, to trust you." Drawing his hand down the side of her face, Rush traced the tip of his index finger over her star map. This marking drew his focus over and over. They were nothing more than simple shapes that formed a pattern; a map to her home.

"Is that why you want to go to? To show everyone that you're not such a bad guy who doesn't care," Cyra rested her hands on his waist.

"I want to keep an eye on you." Rush answered. "I need to make sure that you stay safe." Knowing what happened to Mandy scared Rush to think that the same could happen to Cyra. He wanted to be there to make sure he had a chance to save her if she was in danger.

"Nick, I can't be hurt that easily." She said the words she had been dying to say to him. Cyra could feel his need to protect her; she knew his desire to keep her safe. After what happened to Mandy, Cyra understood his need to keep and eye on her. "I might be the one to protect you."

"Oh yeah, I'd like to see that happen." He teased. Stepping away from her Rush grabbed his bag and went to the door. "Come on." Rush pressed the door release. Cyra grabbed the leather satchel she had dug out of her duffel so she could join him to head back to the gate room and gate to the planet.

The day was clear, a warm breeze whispered through the trees, and the chatter of people broke the serenity of the planet. Cyra moved with Rush, Chloe, and TJ through the trees on the path to the town. So far she hadn't seen any signs of advanced technology. At least the day was nice enough. "Not a bad planet." she commented and Rush took her hand.

"When we get to the town, try and locate the hospital." TJ mentioned continuing down the path.

"Shouldn't we be looking for all sorts of supplies?" Cyra asked.

"Yeah, but our priority is medicine."

"Oh," She kept her hand in Nick's for as long he would let her. Cyra came to a stop. Something caught her attention making her tighten her hand on Rush's hand. "I saw something." She bent to her side trying to see past one of the tree trunks without going off after the phantom. Behind her TJ drew her service weapon.

"What?" Rush stopped next to her looking in the same direction. He saw nothing. "Cyra I can't see anything." There was nothing there, but it didn't mean that she hadn't seen something.

"Maybe it's post time dilation lag or something." Cyra shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"We'll check the area when we come back." Tamara lowered her 9mm re-holstering it. "Right now we should keep moving and get to that town." She hadn't felt right since stepping foot on this planet and now the strange alien girl was saying she saw something. This was going to be one hell of a day for her. TJ turned and continued.

Chloe hung back to walk next to Cyra. "Hi, I'm Chloe."

Cyra looked at the pale brunette next to her, "Hi." Instinctually her hand tightened on Rush's.

"How are you finding Destiny?" Chloe asked.

Cyra looked at her, "I like it now that I'm out of that bubble." She chuckled letting go of Rush. "The people seem nice enough…"

"If you don't mind me saying, you don't seem all that alien to me." Chloe said, "If you want someone to talk to or just hang out with while Rush is busy fixing some life threatening catastrophe; come find me." She offered before catching up with TJ.

In the deserted town the team of four made it down the main streets carefully and made sure to keep their eyes out for signs of life. All around them were signs in English and Ancient. "This must be a planet colonized by Novus settlers." TJ murmured.

"Novus?" Cyra asked.

"People descended from the Destiny crew 2,000 years ago." Rush answered keeping his gaze roving the streets. Anything and everything would help. Maybe he would be lucky enough to come across a book store.

"Is that when there were two of you?" Cyra nudged him playfully. She managed to sift through his memories and connect the name Novus to the events that had happened. "Cause I think that would be fun." For her, two Nicholas Rush's would be so fun.

"Oh yeah, it was a laugh a minute." Rush dead panned but he gave her a smile. Being with another Rush had been one of the more unusual experiences of his life. But he had gotten through it and he found that he missed having the other genius around.

The road twisted and turned leading the team to a ruined city. Building had scorch marks on them, crumbling rubble; but the city looked advanced. Cyra felt unnerved being here. Discretely her hand went to the Lorien knife on her belt; just the feel of the metal in her hand steadied her. "This place is creepy."

"It's no different than any other abandoned city we've found." Rush commented. To think the descendants of the Destiny actually managed to make this, a colony of advanced technology boggled his mind. They had actually survived.

"I guess," Cyra muttered scanning the road. She stopped and looked at a store front. Either her eyes were tricking her or something had moved inside. Removing her dagger from the sheath, Cyra took a step towards it with the ethereal blue glow from the hilt of her knife reflecting on the dusting glass.

"Hey, guys… over here!" Chloe called out. She found was looked to be a hospital. TJ joined her shining the light from her flash light illuminating the dismal burnt out entrance of what could be the remains of the hospital.

Rush left Cyra where she was going over to TJ and Chloe. "What'd you find?"

TJ answered, "I think it's a hospital. We're going to go in a check it out. You and Cyra should continue looking. We'll radio if we find anything." She took a step inside after Chloe and then turned back to Rush, "If you find anything…"

"Radio you, I know." He answered knowing exactly what she was going to tell him to do.

"Yeah, radio." TJ muttered heading inside to catch up with Chloe. They had hours to search and she was going to make the most of it. The medicine on Destiny was dangerously low.

Cyra moved up to the door and cautiously pushed it open. She was about to step inside when Rush came up to her side. He wasn't going to stop her. Cyra lifted her dagger to illuminate the inside. Everything reflected the ethereal blue light adding to the nerves she was already feeling. A shudder worked up her spine. Carefully she stepped mindful of her footing. One creek and the building could come down around them. They moved off down the hall and into a wider room where stack after stack of books greeted them. Cyra stepped and floor board broke under her. Rush grabbed her arm pulling her back. "Thanks."

"Be careful." Rush muttered skirting the broken floorboard to go to the first stack of books. A few of them were books of published math proofs. They could be interesting. Moving his bag around Rush stuck a few of them in there to read later.

"Right," Cyra nodded feeling foolish. She went to the bookshelf to her left to peruse the tittles. None of them she could read. Speaking a language and reading it were two different things. Even with Nick's memories it would take her a while to read. Moving on down the line she found some empty notebooks. If anything she could use them to at least write in her own language. Stuffing them in her satchel Cyra grabbed few of the pens that were there too. "So, I'm gonna go with a theory and say this is a book store."

Nick turned to her smirking, "I'd say that was a fair assessment." The book he had been leafing through disappeared into his bag as well. "There is nothing that we need here."

Back out on the street Rush and Cyra moved up the street away from the building they had been in to the corner where a diner rested. By the looks of the dust on the windows and the weeds coming out of the pavement; nothing they could find in there would be any good.

"We could check for canned goods?" Cyra suggested.

"It'd be a waste of time. The other teams are scouting food that can be picked and stored while I'm sure Sgt. Greer is enjoying a little hunting." Rush looked around trying to choose a way to head next.

Cyra sheathed her dagger; it was still broad day light out. There was still that sense of impending doom that kept gnawing at her. What was it she had seen out in the woods while on the road to this city? Maybe it had been just a delayed reaction in her corneas. It could have been an image that her brain hadn't been able to process while in the time dilation field. Cyra took a moment and just stopped. She breathed deeply filling her lungs with fresh air. She let all the sounds filter in her mind. It was what the one thing she could do to center herself from the chaos in side of her mind.

Rush put his hand on his hips studying the street. It went off in several different directions looking like the spokes of a wagon wheel. Across from him was a five story building. There would be enough of a vantage point that he could look at the lay out of the city for as far as his vision would let him see. "Cyra," Rush turned to her to see she had her eyes closed. He reached out to her and lightly ran his fingers over her hand. She jumped much as she had in his quarters. "You ok?"

"Yeah, where we gonna go?" Cyra jumped back when he touched her hand. It had startled her.

"Top of that building to get the lay of the land." Rush answered pointing across the street. She moved with him a worried expression crossing her face. They got to the door where Rush pushed it open. Dust feel, debris scrapped along the floor. "Well, this is promising…" He muttered stepping inside.

"And here comes the creepiness again." Cyra followed him inside. She grasped her dagger again letting the hilt illuminate. It wasn't as dark as the other building had been and the flight of stairs was right in front of them. Nick headed towards them and then up the first flight. Each step was taken carefully and with great ease. She had no desire to fall through a rotten floor board.

At the last flight of stairs Rush stopped and pulled out the water bottle he brought with them. Behind him Cyra leaned against the wall watching the steps as if someone was going to come up on them any second. She was still clutching the odd glowing blade that was from her home world. "No one is here."

"I know," Cyra whispered. "Still I feel as if we are being watched. Don't you get that feeling?" Rush held out the water bottle to her, but she shook her head. She wasn't thirsty.

"Not really," Rush shook his head before tuning to the last set of stairs. Cyra wasn't far behind him. He tried the door at the top of the landing. It wouldn't budge. Looking at Cyra he only raised an eye brow. She nodded coming up next to him bracing her shoulder against the door. Together they managed to force the door open.

Cyra shoved the door open with Rush to reveal the debris littered roof top. Her stomach rolled thinking at how high off the ground she was at this very moment. Rush moved out in the open going straight for the ledge while she lingered by the door. Cyra looked out at the view but that was as far as she would go. She wasn't moving away from the door.

Rush looked over the edge and just as he suspected the city was set up like the spoke of a wheel. This must have been another one of the descendant made cities. Back at the door Cyra lingered. Rush looked at her and said, "Aren't going to take a look?"

"No, no… I'm fine where I am." Cyra held up her hands.

Rush scoffed going to her. He took her hands drawing her away from the door she kept propped open, bringing her over to the ledge. There was the slightest bit of tension running through her. He managed to get her over to the ledge keeping his arms wrapped around her waist. "It's amazing how far these people managed to get with technology."

"Uh huh…" Cyra looked away, looked up at the sky. She would look at anything, except out at the abandoned city.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Rush asked. Personally he never gave them a second thought.

"I don't like them." Cyra answered trying to keep her heart rate down. This was her one fault, her one weakness. She hated being in high places. They made her nervous.

"You live in space, how can you not like heights?" Rush inquired.

"Well, if you fall in space, there is nothing to go splat on. You just keep falling." Cyra quipped. She gulped and then drew in a shaky breath. Before too long she was going to have a panic attack.

"Splat?" Rush tried not to chuckle at that. She was a curious creature indeed. "Is that the technical term?"

"Yeah, splat… very very technical." Cyra turned from the sight burying her face in his shoulder. "Can we get down now?" She asked.

**EARTH:**

Daniel Jackson listened to Col. Telford relate his conversation with the alien girl to Jack. It was fascinating to him and it made Daniel want to see her for himself. If what Telford said was true, then this girl could be a humanoid with no relation to the Ancients what so ever. "Since Telford didn't have any luck talking to her. Let me try." Daniel suggested.

"I talked to her just fine, she's just hiding something. Which isn't surprising since she's bonded with Rush. The girl probably picked it up from him." Telford sneered.

"Or maybe she doesn't like you." Daniel suggested in his usual manner. Talking to Telford sometimes reminded him of talking to Jack back in those early years of the SGC program. Telford just glared at him. it didn't bother him any. He was used to dealing with the military.

"Daniel," Jack said, "Why do you wanna go?"

"Because…" Daniel rolled his eyes. He had lost track at how many times Jack had asked him that question over the years. "She's from another galaxy where the ancients never were. This alone should interest you too."

Jack shrugged, "Yeah, it doesn't." He knew this dance with Daniel. First he would say no, then Daniel would complain. Jack would say no again leading Daniel to start an argument, ending with Jack giving in and letting him do what he wanted. It was how it always was and how it always would be until one of them was dead.

"Jack…" Daniel whined.

"Daniel…" Jack mocked.

"Come on, this is a golden opportunity to find out what she knows." Daniel reasoned. If Daniel could make friends with an Unas, learn the language, he was sure he could talk to a woman from another galaxy.

"Fine, go…" Jack relented early. He was not in the mood to pretend argue with Daniel. Tonight Sam was back in orbit of Earth. He was supposed to meet her an hour ago. "I think one of the brainiacs is scheduled to switch with one of our people, you can take their place.

**ALIEN PLANET:**

Cyra raced out of the front door feeling as if her heart could explode from her chest. She couldn't have gotten out of there any quicker. Dropping her satchel she plopped down on the side walk putting her head down between her knees. The only way to make the fear stop was to face it and continue o face it over and over until it held no power over you, but she couldn't.

Rush had tried to keep pace with Cyra once they hit the stair well, except he couldn't. She moved faster than he had ever seen anyone move. She hadn't used any of her Legacies, at least not that he knew of. Cyra had just been a blur as she ran down the several flights of steps. When he passed through the unhinged door she was there on the side walk with her head down, her breathing still labored. He sat down next to her watching her. "Are you going to be ok?"

"Yes… I'll be fine." She gasped out. If she wasn't careful then she would start to shake.

Rush set his hand on her back gently hoping to help in any way that he could. The gesture he was making, he shouldn't be doing it at all. This girl was still such a stranger to him and yet he felt he had known her for a long time. Nick was slowly working through it all. Cyra made him feel again. To him that was a gift. "Come on, we'll see if Lt. Johansson and Chloe have found anything useful." Rush stood up offering her a helping hand.

Cyra took his hand. As soon as their skin touched her fear lessened, was made more manageable so she could shove it deep down. No sooner had Nick spoke than his radio went off. "Rush, this is TJ, come in."

"This is Dr. Rush. Find anything useful LT?" He asked leaving his hand in Cyra's.

"We have some bandages and some medicine that we can use." TJ answered, "But there is something else your friend should see."

"Sounds ominous," Rush muttered. "All right LT, we're on our way." Rush re-clipped his radio to the strap of his bag looking at Cyra, "Do you feel up to it?"

"Yeah," Cyra shrugged, "Just so long as we don't step foot on any more roofs I'll be fine." Even though she said that Cyra still kept her hand in his.

TJ had Chloe head back up to the main entrance to wait for rush and the red head. She stood staring at the alien that had tied up with only a pair of black shorts on his body. The male alien had slits next to his nose, sharpened teeth and a few tattoo's on the side of his neck. There was nothing familiar about it except for the garland of pendants it still wore. One of them stuck out at her; it looked like the pendant Cyra was wearing.


	5. Chapter 5

Summary: Rush finds another person on Destiny trapped in a time dilation field.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of SGU or the movie I AM NUMBER FOUR

Rating: T+

**I AM NUMBER FIVE:**

Cyra stopped dead in her tracks while Rush and Chloe joined Lt. Johansson as they looked at the creature being suspended for study. There was something vaguely familiar about the body. Then she saw it; her number. Cyra clutched at the pendant around her neck feeling sick. That thing had more than likely killed one of her incarnations; the next to be number five. It shouldn't upset her so much as she was so far removed from her people and who they were. But it did bother her, so much so she stayed by the door.

Nick's eyes immediately zeroed in on the garland of pendants around the dead aliens neck. One of them he knew. It was Cyra's number. He turned to the ethereal being in the doorway looking like she wanted to bolt. "What is it?" he asked. There was a long shot that she actually knew what this alien was. The look on her face told him all he needed to know. Cyra was scared of whatever it was that was dead and suspended in mid air for study.

"I don't know, at least I'm not sure." Cyra shrugged. She tried to place the face, only she couldn't. There was nothing familiar about it, at least not anymore. "They look like a primitive race I've seen before."

"What are they? Who are they?" Chloe asked turning to look at the alien again. Good thing this one was dead. She had had her fill of bad luck with the aliens in this part of the universe.

"The ones I knew of were called Mogadorians, but like I said they were little more than primitives. They lived in caves and had wooden clubs." Cyra answered trying not to reach for her knife.

"They don't look that primitive to me," TJ muttered looking the alien up and down. As far as she could tell nothing had been done to it, but then again. She didn't have the best light to examine the body properly.

"Yeah, well, maybe they evolved some brain cells since last I saw them which was, ooh, oh... 15,000 years ago." Cyra snapped unintentionally. Her hand gripped the hilt of her blade sliding it free of the sheath. Putting aside her revulsion Cyra went to the Mog and cut free the evolved symbol of her number. She half expected the Mog to come alive and try to attack her. Something didn't make sense. When her people died the turned to dust and the same was for the Mog's; at least it was for the one she had killed once.

Cyra did the one thing she wanted to avoid at all cost; she made the choice to kill. She waited and looked for some hint of life. It's when she saw it. The pulse in the side of the Mog's neck; he was awake. As quick as she could she shoved her blade deep into his chest. The Mog's eyes opened quickly and roared before freezing. Cyra slipped the blade free as the Mog disintegrated into black ash. It all happened with in the blink of an eye. "That's the only commonality between us and the Mogs…. No messy cleanup." Cyra stepped back r-sheathing her dagger as Chloe, Rush, and TJ stared at her. "What?"

"You killed it." TJ stated staring from Cyra to the pile of ash and the back at Cyra.

"It would have killed you."

"It was dead already."

"No," Cyra pointed to the ash, "Now it's well and truly dead." She stepped back knocking the blackened ash off of her boots. "And now it won't kill you." Clutching the necklace she took from the Mog's neck, Cyra walked out of the room. Just outside the door Cyra fell back against the wall slowing her heart rate.

"Well, that was eventful." Rush muttered crouching down to examine the ash that was left behind.

"She just killed that alien. Doesn't that bother you?"

"Nope," Rush answered seeing something move. It scurried out from under the pile of ash and into his hand. To Nick, it looked like a little gecko with two tails, eight legs and it was magenta in color, with sunflower yellow streaks on it's side and lime green eyes; four lime green eyes.

"Great, you're girlfriend kills an alien and you find a pet." TJ muttered leaving Rush and Chloe near the ashes. When she strode through the open door there was Cyra sitting on the grimy dirty floor with her forehead resting on her knees drawn up to her chest. The girl was shaking. She knelt down and asked, "Are you ok?" Though, who could be ok after killing someone?

"It had to be done." Cyra muttered. "Have you ever had a feeling deep down that you knew to be so true you had to act on it? That was what happened to me with that Mog. I got a deeply instinctual feeling that it was going to come awake and kill us." Cyra had to act; she had to protect them as only she could. It was what she was meant for; being a protector.

TJ knew what the girl was talking about. She had a feeling like that months ago when the Lucian Alliance invaded Destiny and she lost her daughter. Even though the Colonel told her that their daughter was gone, TJ believed that some force beyond their comprehension saved the life of her daughter taking her to safety. "I do know that feeling." TJ relented. Still, watching a person, alien, die ate at her. She was a medic. She preserved life; helped to save it.

"I couldn't let anyone get hurt." Cyra muttered and she repeated it over and over in her head.

"And you didn't." Nick said standing in front of Cyra. Hs gaze tracked to the LT. "Are we through here?"

"Yeah, no need to stick around. I got what bandages I could find and what medicine still looked usable." TJ answered standing up. She looked at Chloe who had remained silent through the whole thing. "We should get back."

**ON THE DESTINY:**

In the room designated for the stones Dr. Dale Volker sat and placed one of the stones on the communications table to make a connection with someone from earth. When he opened his eyes it wasn't Volker who was sitting in a room on the Destiny, it was Daniel Jackson. "Ok, wow…" Daniel mumbled.

"Welcome to the Destiny." Park greeted. She had been rotated to stone duty today. Everyone was doing their part and so was she. "You're…?"

"Oh, right… I'm Daniel Jackson." He held out the hand in his borrowed body.

"Nice to meet you Doctor."

"Is Colonel Young around?"

"He should be in the gate room. We have a team coming back from a planet." Park got up and motioned for him to follow her. Daniel/Volker did so immediately. He was eager to see more of this Ancient ship. The ship looked so advanced and antiquated at the same time. Daniel loved it. They walked through the halls with Daniel looking around, his head constantly turning, until they walked into the gate room.

"Colonel, this is Dr. Jackson from earth."

Young turned to Park and then looked over at Volker. Just what he needed another Doctor, butJacksonwas different. He was SG-1. He was part of the SGC since the program got life breathed back into it. Young respected the man when he was being quiet. "Dr. Jackson, welcome to the Destiny."

"Thank you. This ship is amazing."Jacksonlooked around and then watched the gate as it spun. It looked more primitive then the gates in the Milky Way or even in the Pegasus. "I'm here to see the girl that was found here."

"Give it a minute. TJ, Chloe, Rush, and Cyra the gate is clear, you can head back to the Destiny." Young commented standing at one of the consoles.

"_Copy that Colonel._"

Daniel stood back out of the way and waited for the team to come back from the planet. A small pang of envy tugged at his heart. He would give anything to be on this ship, seeing it with his own eyes. This ship was old, but it was even more advanced than the technology they had on earth or the technology they had been given by the Asgard. This ship was built nearly a million years ago. It amazed Daniel to no end. Just then the event horizon rippled and two women, a blonde in an Icarus Base uniform, and a brunette came through. After them, Rush and the alien girl came through. She was gorgeous and unmistakable with her fiery red hair, her lithe body. She was a fighter. Daniel could recognize the spirit of a warrior a mile away. He had lived, laughed, and died with his share of fighters. Sam, Jack, Teal'c, and Bra'tac were a few names he could pull off the top of his head.

Rush came through the gate with Cyra feeling better than he had in years, or months. A weight had been lifted from him since the violent pain of Mandy's death. This bright shining girl next to him saw the universe in a way he had never thought to look at it. Yes, he knew of the wonder of the universe, but to him it was all math and equations, and problems to solve and plan for. Cyra just lived life going with the bumps and bruises as they came. Part of him envied her in that way. Rush smiled as she held the little lizard in her hands. Well, what he thought had been an alien lizard was actually a Chimera, a shape shifting body guard from her home world. As soon as the Chimera saw Cyra it jumped from him to her.

Cyra felt a new pair of eyes settle on her when she came through the gate with her Chimera. She hadn't thought she would ever see another being from her home world again until Rush came over to her with this little fella in his hand. Instantly she knew what it was. The Chimera came to her instantly looking up at her with a knowing look. It was smarter than it looked. When the time came, this little guy wouldn't be so little. Looking up from the chimera Cyra saw a man standing by the console, by Col. Young. The man had been pointed out to her a day ago where Rush identified him as Dr. Volker. He was a scientist. But he was staring at her with more than a casual curiosity. She looked to Rush, "He's staring at me."

"Who?" Rush looked around the gateroom to see Volker standing there. He was indeed staring at Cyra. More than it should it bothered Rush that someone would be staring at her openly like that.

Daniel visibly straightened when Rush glared at him. Then he remembered that he wasn't in his body. He straightened clearing his throat choosing to go to them. Daniel took short strides in an unfamiliar body. He wasn't in his body, he had to remember that, yet he kept forgetting as he stared on at the red head. "Dr. Rush, it's nice to see you again." Daniel held out his hand to the ill tempered mathematician gaining a questioning stare from him. "Oh, right, it's Daniel Jackson. I borrowed this body to come and meet your lovely guest."

"Why would you want to talk to me?" Cyra inquired setting the Chimera on her shoulder so she could cross her arms over her stomach. "I'm nobody."

Daniel shook his head, "You most certainly are not 'nobody'. You come from another galaxy." He exclaimed. It was amazing to him that she was human looking, speaking English. She was from a world with no Ancient interaction what so ever. "You are one of the many wonders of the universe." Daniel smiled.

"You come from another galaxy. So does Nick. Practically everyone on this ship is from another galaxy." Crya replied looking around. "In the grand scheme of things I am being out of time; I'm no wonder of the universe." She looked at Nick feeling a cold weight settle on her. "I shouldn't even be here."

"But you are." Daniel replied gaining her attention, turning her away from Rush. "I would like to learn from you if I can."

Cyra felt confused. She looked back at Nick willing him to see her indecision. He reached out, took her hand, and motioned with his head to move away fromJacksonand over to the stairs. Nick ascended one step to cause her to look up at him. Cyra didn't mind so much. It gave her to time she desired to gaze into his eyes and decipher the emotions she could see in his brown depths. "Should I talk to him?" Cyra asked.

"Do you want to?" Rush questioned hoping that she would say no. It was bothering him that Jackson had come all the way here just to talk to Cyra. And it annoyed him that he was so annoyed.

"He's one of yours." Cyra accused. She was all alone here, no one else like her on the ship. "Do you want me to talk to him?"

"I…" Nick sighed casting a glance over at Jackson who had borrowed Dr. Volker's body. "No, I don't want you to talk to him, but you should." He reached out and ran his finger along her jaw line. "Jacksoncan make sure the IOA keeps away from you."

"IAO?" Cyra cocked her head to the side. Nick had told her about them and they tended to cause trouble just by being around. "What could they do to me out here?" She put her hand on his hips casting a weary glance over atJackson.

"Good point." Nick muttered drawing the tip of his finger down the center of her stomach. "Still you should talk to him. It's either him or Col. Teleford."

"No thank you." Cyra snapped brushing past Rush to go over to whereJacksonstood watching her with amusement coloring his eyes. "What do you want to know?"

**MESSHALL:**

"Where's your home?" Daniel asked sitting across from Cyra in the mess hall. He could sense the barely restrained hostility she was sending his way. The girl wasn't accustomed to answering questions.

"I don't know." Cyra shrugged looking around at all the people looking at her. She was still someone of interest to them all, to the stranded humans of a ship not of their own. This ship still amazed her even with he advanced technology she had grown up with.

"You don't know the galaxy you live in?" Daniel questioned.

Cyra pulled off her long sleeved shirt bearing the black camisole she had underneath as well as the star map emblazoned on skin. "I live here, but this map is about fifteen thousand years out of date." She snarled getting up from the table. "I'm lost!" Cyra raged leaving he mess hall breathing in harshly at finally voicing her fears. She was lost. She was far from home. It was killing her.

Daniel sat dumbfounded at how the young woman had raged at him, but he understood. He had been like that onAbydosthe first few months. The feeling of being lost, of being homesick had been so strong even though he had wanted to stay being. Getting up from the table he walked out into the hall to see Cyra crouched down against the wall with her forehead resting against her knees. Daniel offered her his hand, "Come on, it's not good to sit on the floor."

Cyra looked up at Daniel, at his offered hand. Gently she rested her hand in his as he helped her up. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped." She took her hand back shoving both of them in her pockets. "I just have no idea how to get home."

"You know, I lived on a different planet for a year." Daniel said trying to relate to her. "I knew where home was, but I couldn't get there." She looked at him with her brow arched, "We had to bury the gate."

"Why?" Cyra asked.

"To keep an enemy at bay." Daniel sighed. "I know the feeling of being cut off from home."

"It's not being cut off that hurts, it's that I'm fifteen thousand years out of date." Cyra sniffled; tears were filling her eyes again. She hadn't realized that she was still holding Daniels hand. Quickly she let it go and backed away. "I have to go now."

Rush had stayed silently out of the way watching Daniel as he helped Cyra from the floor. It was irrational, it was stupid, but he felt a small pang of jealous zing through him at seeing Daniel offering her his hand. She took it easily. What was going on? Daniel had the ability to make most people like him; Goa'ulds,Jaffa, military, scientists. There was just something about him that people liked. Now, he could see Cyra was starting to like him. Then, she abruptly left. It was his cue to come out of the shadows. "Dr. Jackson, everything alright?"

"Your girlfriend is scared." Daniel mentioned rocking back on his heels, putting his hands in his pockets. "There is something she isn't telling you."

Rush let the 'girlfriend' comment slide. "What do you think she is hiding?" When they were talking, nick always sensed she was holding something back, even as he tried to think about it, focus on her memories in his mind, a block would form and he couldn't move past it.

"She said she was on Atlantis during a war." Daniel looked at Rush, "She claimed to be there during the Wraith/Ancient war. That was ten thousand years ago, not fifteen, but you knew that already."

"Yes, I did." Nick answered looking up the corridor where Cyra had just disappeared. He would give her the time she needed to fully trust him, to tell her what was buried deep down inside of her that she was scared to tell him about. It couldn't be as bad as some of the things he's witnessed, or done lately.


	6. Chapter 6

Summary: Rush finds another person on Destiny trapped in a time dilation field.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of SGU or the movie I AM NUMBER FOUR

Rating: T+

**I AM NUMBER FIVE:**

**THE NEXT DAY:**

"Tell me what you see." Camille, acting on the suggestion put to her by Daniel Jackson, asked after putting the young woman under hypnosis. Dr. Jackson was sitting by on the coffee table waiting while Rush lingered by the door his eyes intent on the red head. She, herself, held the seat on the edge of the arm rest by the top of Cyra's head.

"It's so bright, the lights are blinding, but I can hear the chattering of a strange language, strange people." Cyra felt panic rising as she woke to her memories o that day. She hadn't wanted to be hypnotized, but Rush just being the way he was, managed to talk her into it. A moan of pain rumbled in her throat where she had hit her head in the crash. There would be no blood, but in the confines of her memories she felt the sticky red painting her forehead crimson. "My focus is returning and there is a man hovering over me."

"Has he said his name yet?" Daniel, in Volker's body, slide foreword a bit watching Cyra as she traversed her memories. He wasn't sure if she was intentionally lying to them or if the Lanteans had placed a block on her memories when they treated her.

"No," Cyra looked at the man she remembered. "I don't understand him." She turned her face away to see another person lying on a bed being treated by doctors. "But, there's another woman here with me. She's unconscious too. They are concerned with her now giving me the time to slip off the bed and out of the room."

"Where did you go?" Daniel asked scooting to the very edge of the coffee table to watch Cyra, watch her eyes move from behind closed eye lids.

"No one is paying attention to me and there were no guards at the door. I can move about freely once clear of the doors. Out in the hall I use my legacies to put some distance between me and the others." Cyra answered being drawn deeper and deeper into the dreamscape. "I'm up two levels before alarms start blaring."

Rush moved away from the door no longer able to stand it. He sat down on the leather sofa taking Cyra's hand in his. "Where are you right now? Can you see out any of the windows?"

Cyra gasped, she looked out one of the glass windows not understanding what she had seen at the time. "Oh, my gods."

"What is it?" Camille asked.

"There's so much water. We're under water." Cyra blinked rapidly. "But it's different. The shield is holding back water as well as a bombardment from above the water." She had placed her hand down on the glass trying to reason what she was seeing. "I can't linger for long, the alarms are getting louder and I head people coming closer."

"Did you run again?" Daniel asked rolling his gaze up to Rush. The other man was trying not to be too agitated.

"No, but I used my legacies to put distance between myself and the people coming closer." Cyra felt the ground beneath her feet shift and a blue haze envelope her bringing her into another part of the underwater structure only to arrive in another place. "Ooops."

"What? Where are you now?" Nick asked taking her hand.

"I don't know a control room I think and there are more people staring at me. I can see a large ring, the stargate, activating." Cyra backed up as everyone in the control room stopped to gaze at her. "I use my abilities to escape and appear to levels down with more guards and that man who had loomed over me."

"Are they threatening you?" Camille asked looking at Rush. For months she had been on the fence about him knowing that Nick would side with no one unless it suited him. Now, he was willingly siding with someone with no benefit to him. He was acting like a human being again. She would have more than enough to report back to the IOA when they inquired about the crew on her next scheduled leave to Earth.

"No, but the man is talking while others are shouting." In her mind Cyra had held up her hands showing she wasn't a threat. She was biding her time to figure out a way to escape. "There is so much noise, too many voice. I can't concentrate on just one. The man comes closer to me and he is speaking the language I don't understand but I manage to catch his name. Janus."

"Now, that is a name I know." Daniel shook his head. Janus; that man cropped up every where Daniel had ever done research.

"I don't." Camille looked at Daniel. "Who is he?"

"He's a genius. A Lantean who had his hands into everything even time travel. I've done extensive research on him and even found a secret lab of his on Atlantis." Daniel answered.

"Oh, is all this information helping you figure out where she was and when she was on Atlantis?" Camille asked looking back at Cyra. The young woman was turning her head from side to side. She didn't give Daniel time to answer, "Cyra what's happening?"

"I'm back in the infirmary and the red head is awake talking to Janus. I feel alone not knowing what is being said." Cyra sat and watched the red head. She swayed back and forth slightly looking like she would pass out again. Janus reached foreword placing his hands on her hips to steady her. "They look at me speaking again." Cyra started to get agitated all over. She had to blend, to give nothing away of whom and what she was. Crossing her arms Cyra tried covering up the star map on her chest. "Try to hide the map to my home galaxy, but it could be too late. They may know where I am from."

"Cyra what's happening?" Nick asked careful to keep just enough emotion in his voice. Right now he was worried about her, about what she would say to them.

"Janus is standing in front of me again. He's gently prying my arms away, trying to get me to relax. I'm still injured. There was a large laceration to the inside of my forearm that I didn't know I had." Cyra looked down at her injured arm finally feeling the pain. She leaned foreword resting her head on Janus's chest. Its funny how nothing ever hurts until it was being looked at. "He's cleaning the wound and I'm trying not to hiss in pain. All the while he keeps talking to me in gentle tones. I'll have no choice but to learn his language."

"How'd you learn to speak Ancient?" Daniel asked.

"I used my free hand to cup the back of his head and I used my Luimen to access the language centers of his brain. I took his knowledge of his language for myself." Cyra answered instantly speaking Ancient.

Daniel replied in ancient, "Can you understand him now?"

"Yes," Cyra replied in the same language. "He's wondering how I did that, but I don't tell him." Cyra couldn't tell him without disclosing her people to him. "All I tell him is I have a gift for languages and leave it at that."

"Does he believe you?"

"No, but he leaves it alone." Cyra looked from Janus to the red head. She's smiling in her direction and Cyra isn't sure why. A twinge of pain shoots from nerves in her arm so powerful that it wrenches a cry from between her lips. Hands touch her shoulder and Cyra looks at the red head.

"What's happening?" Rush grips her hand looking at Daniel.

"I don't know. She may have gone further into the hypnosis." Daniel reached out and moved Cyra's left forearm. It was red, showing a scar. "That's not good."

"She's talking to me, asking my name. I tell her I don't have one."

Camille was glad that Cyra went back to using English. Her ancient was rusty. "Who's talking to you?"

"The red head." Cyra answered.

"What does she look like?" Camille had an idea on who it could be, but she wasn't sure.

"She had dark red hair, curly, and short around her face. Her skin in so pale but not deathly white and her eyes are green. She's smiling at me trying to put me at ease." Cyra nearly leans back away from both of them.

"That's Elizabeth." Daniel muttered. He had read the mission report after Atlantis had made contact.

"Elizabeth Weir?" Nick asked.

"Yeah," Daniel nodded. "Camille, pull her out of it. I have what I need." He looked to Rush who appeared relieved.

"Cyra when I count down from five you'll wake up feeling refreshed as if you've had a good night sleep." Camille took a deep breath and then continued, "Five, four, three, you are coming closer to being conscious, two, and one."

Cyra opened her eyes feeling refreshed only to stare at the faces of the three people who had been asking her questions as she had been traversing her memories. It had been so odd to be back at that place, staring at those people. She looked at her left forearm; the former cut was still there, no more than a scar, and even that was fading. It was time for the truth, but even she didn't know what that truth was. "Why do you all look so… strange?" She asked.

"Cyra, do you know the red head you spoke of?" Daniel asked. "She was someone we knew."

Cyra shook her head, "How could you know her if she lived ten thousand years ago?"

"Time travel." Rush answered.

"Oh…"

"We don't know what exactly happened to her other than what she told a team that found Atlantis years later. Elizabeth, that was her name, was found deep down in one of the labs in a stasis chamber." Daniel omitted certain details not wanting to explain everything. Cyra still had a lot of information about the time leading to her arrival on the Destiny and he wanted to find them out.

"I can't tell you what I don't know." Cyra defended. She bolted off the couch and paced in a tight line. "I didn't even remember half of what I told you until Camille worked her voodoo." She pointed at Camille.

"All I did was hypnotize you. It's not voodoo." Camille argued gently angling her head to stare at Cyra. "We're not going to accuse of anything. All we need is how you got here." She urged again.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Cyra shouted dropping down to her knees rocking back and forth.

Rush glared at Camille before going to Cyra. He sat down next to her slow, gently, reaching out to her. She was shaking, fingers fisted in her hair. "It's alright now." Nick soothed. Quickly she latched on to him, throwing her arms over his shoulders and burying her face in the side of his neck. "I think we're done for now." He growled at Camille and Daniel. Wray nodded and Daniel opened his mouth, but shut it again seeing the scathing look Nick was throwing his way. Carefully, Rush slipped his arm under Cyra's knees and around her back so he could pick her up. What hey had just put her through had made her shut down almost. Nick knew it, he just knew it.

"Nicholas, we're going to have to try again later." Camille said placing her hand gently on Cyra's back.

"Not today." He warned.

"Of course not." Camille smiled sadly at Cyra who clung to Nick. "I wouldn't do that to her."

Hours later found Cyra back out on the observation deck. She liked the look of the shields as they traveled through FTL; the colors soothed her. It wasn't like before, something was different with her. Cyra knew part of how she came to Atlantis, though why she was sent here was still a mystery to her. Why would Janus send her here? What could he possibly have been thinking? So many other questions ricocheted in her mind as she stood bathed in the light of FTL travel.

"Cyra? Are you ok?"

She turned to see Camille Wray standing just inside the door looking at her. She nodded sharply, "I'm fine." She shrugged turning back to the celestial sight before her eyes.

"What happened today… I'm sorry it made you relive trauma from what happened to you." Camille muttered.

"Because of what you did, I remember how I got to Atlantis, but not how I got here." Cyra replied going to sit on the couch. "That red head Daniel was asking about. I remember her… sorta." She shrugged. Camille came to sit next to her.

"Do you mind if I ask?"

"I saw her, Elizabeth right, well she was with Janus. They were talking very low, passionately, and they walked down a hall. When I followed them they were gone. It was dead end with no turns or anything and they just disappeared." Cyra tried to recall all that she remembered, but it came to her in waves. She couldn't remember it all.

"Sounds like the secret lab Daniel found a few years ago." Camille commented.

"Why would he need a secret lab if the city was under water?" Cyra arched her eyebrow. "It seems like over kill to me."

"Yes, from what I've heard about Janus, he was a secretive man. He had so many projects going that he didn't want anyone to know about." Camille smiled.

Cyra laughed, "That sounds like Nick. I've been in his head and he has so many things on his mind." She shook her head. "It's amazing he doesn't go insane."

"Most brilliant men have to contend with insanity on a daily basis; their brilliance is always expanding and it's a tenuous balance between genius and madness. Some men don't know the difference." Camille said. In her years with working with scientists she had seen the arrogance of many men; Rodney McKay came to min instantly. The only scientist without much of an ego had to be Colonel Samantha Carter.

"What good is brilliance if it can't keep you alive?" Cyra asked. "The Lanteans were super geniuses by today's standards, and that ten thousand years ago. What good was their knowledge when it got them killed?"

"I don't know what good it did them, but it allowed them to make it back to Earth where we evolved from them." Camille commented.

Cyra was confused, "How could you evolve from them? No offense you are far less technologically advanced than they were." She hadn't meant to be rude, but she had a feeling that was how she was coming off.

"You're right. We are the second coming of the Ancients." Camille smirked at Cyra, "Don't ask me how, just something I heard Dr. Jackson say once or was that twice." She laughed lightly putting Cyra at ease.

"Oh," She didn't know quite what to say. Cyra was an alien among aliens and it unnerved her the most, except when she was with Nick. He alone had the power to put her at ease.

"What would happen if you were to step foot on Atlantis again?" Camille asked. "It would be familiar territory and it would help you access your memories." She reasoned.

"One problem, even if I wanted too, we are so far away from them. How are we supposed to go there?" Cyra crossed her arms over her chest.

"We have this Ancient communication stones that allow us to switch bodies with people on the other side of the galaxy." Camille answered.

"Who would be suited to switch with me?" Cyra activated her Luimen letting the tips of her fingers glow with ethereal light that was generated by he own unique body chemistry. She couldn't think of anyone who would know enough to be able to control all of her abilities.

"If you agree we would have to find someone." Camille cocked her head to the side.

"What would Rush say?" Cyra valued Nick's opinion. He knew the people she was surrounded by better than she did.

"Maybe you should try making a choice without Rush." Camille urged.

"I can't because I don't know any of you the way he does. I'm an alien and you want me to swap bodies with one of your people. See how that sounds?" Cyra looked back out at the vastness of space.

"How about I get the ball rolling and in a couple of days you can let me know your answer." Camille bargained. She knew how to get what she wanted in the end. It was why she was with the IOA to begin with.

**ATLANTIS:**

Teyla stood out on the balcony of the gateroom digesting all the information Col. Carter and Mr. Woolsey had given her. They had briefed her, Col. Sheppard, Rodney, and Ronan on the Destiny and her crew, and about the special guest that now lived with the survivors of the Icarus base. Carter had asked her if she would be willing to use the communication stones and to trade her consciousness with the girls to bring the other woman to Atlantis. She was the best candidate for them to choose from because, to them, she had some understanding on keeping mental powers in check. Teyla had stands of Wraith DNA in her that allowed he to connect to them via telepathy. But what had been described to her by Dr. Jackson was something not even she was sure she could control.

"Hey."

Teyla turned when Ronan came out to stand next to her. "Hello." She replied sighing deeply staring out at the water.

"You ok?" Ronan asked putting his hand on her shoulder. "You gonna do this?" He grumbled.

"I have not decided yet. I want to help, but I can not see myself…" Teyla had no words for it. Leaning over because she knew she could Teyla rested her head against Ronan's shoulder. Over and over her mind ran in circles.

"Then help, it's as simple as that." Ronan stepped away, turning his back to the sight of the ocean. He leaned against the railing playfully scowling at her. It made Teyla laugh. "I'll even volunteer if it will put you at ease." He offered.

"You would?" Teyla asked. "Thank you Ronan."

"Actually I heard Sheppard and McKay were also volunteering so you wouldn't be alone." He added. They were a close knit team, a family, and he couldn't leave Teyla to face something on her own. It just wasn't happening.

"What would I do without the three of you?" Teyla asked reaching out to Ronan to hug him. "Then, I will help if I have you there." She whispered. Ronan's arms tightened on her. Teyla savored the moments where he could hold her like this.


End file.
